The Wisdom of the Heartbreak Kid
by Technobabble1
Summary: The story of a young wrestler trying to survive the world of his chosen profession.
1. Chapter 1

The opening Bell

Davy Ward growled and snarled as he paced around the locker-room. He didn't know why he was so unhappy, he was living what he thought was his dream! From the time he was a teenager he wanted to be a professional wrestler. He remembered watching wrestling, how addicted he was to it, how much he loved everything about it. For the past several years of his life he devoted himself to the actual art/sport of professional wrestling. He worked out like a maniac, spending hours doing all kinds of different exercises to gain and maintain the strength, size, stamina, speed and agility to be a pro wrestler. By the time he was 19 he had built himself into the 260 pounds of lean muscle that he needed to be taken seriously in the WWE. Then after a long argument with his parents he used the money that had been saved for his college to go to Wrestling School. While most wrestlers start traveling the indy circuit after being trained the first time, Davy was devoted to improving his craft, and bounced around the country for years, enrolling in different wrestling schools and graduating from them closer and closer to his dream. When he was twenty-four WWE signed him to a developmental contract. After a year and a half In Florida being retrained and having his work double checked, he was brought up to the Monday Night Raw roster where he would wrestle in full stadiums, make real money and be on national Television. He had been on the televised roster for over a year. He'd amassed somewhat of a fan following for his boyish good looks, great technical acumen and devotion to his craft. He had finally made it, and that he was finally somewhat secure in his position in the top wrestling company in the world, he felt empty. He didn't know why he wasn't happy, he'd already had a respectable Reign with the Intercontinental title, and Vince McMahon had told Davy that he was on the fast track for main event status. Davy knew he should be ecstatic. He loved his job, he couldn't imagine himself as anything else, but for some reason it wasn't enough for him anymore. Why wasn't he happy? Davy slammed his locker "I Don't Understand!" He yelled to the room.

"Don't understand What?" came a gruff southern voice. Davy turned around and saw who it was. It was a huge bearded pale man dressed in biker gear, a leather jacket, a Harley Davidson T-Shirt, and well worn dirty jeans, the legendary Undertaker. Undertaker had been a main eventer throughout the era of Hogan, the Era of Austin and the Era of John Cena. To wrestling fans he was a hero and an icon, a surefire future hall of Famer who'll be remembered as one of the best big men in the business. To the younger wrestlers in the WWE, he was the Boss. 'Taker was the locker-room leader, everyone bowed down to his experience. "Come on boy, if your going to be slamming your locker in confusion, you can at least tell me why?" 'Taker asked.

Davy sat down on a folding chair and apologized, "Taker I didn't mean to bother you."

"Don't worry about it kid, I was just relaxing, my match isn't for another hour and a half, and my opponent and I have it pretty much figured out." Taker grinned. "Now what don't you understand?" Taker pulled up a folding chair and parked down next to Davy. It was obvious that he wasn't going anywhere.

After a deep breath Davy replied "I'm not happy Taker. I'm sorry but for the past couple of months I just don't feel happy. I love my job, I enjoy being a wrestler, but when I'm not in the ring I'm just not happy."

Taker laughed "Kid, since you've been a wrestler, what else have you done for yourself?" Davy looked up and saw into 'Taker's eyes, they were warm and wise.

"What do you mean?" Davy asked. "I've put money into a retirement fund, I've bought a nice house."

"You have a woman?" Taker asked, "any hobbies, or do you just wrestle, wait for creative to tell you what to do next, do it and then just mope around the house waiting for the next thing you can do for the company?"

A hearty sigh escaped Davy's lips. "The Wrestling and waiting one." Davy admitted "but when I'm on company time I'm happy."

"So you let your job define you?" Taker asked.

"I guess so" replied Davy. "You think that's why I'm so unhappy?" Taker nodded. "What should I do?" Davy asked.

"you have any friends?" Taker asked.

"Of Course I have friends sir." Davy smiled. "Evan and I trained together. I'm pretty close to Jack. I keep in touch with some of the guys I worked with in the Indys. And if it's not assuming too much I consider you somewhat of a friend right now."

Undertaker stroked his beard. "How much time do you actually spend with your friends when your not on company time?" he asked inquisitively.

Davy threw his hands up in exasperation "Yes. Okay Taker you've got me! I don't have a personal life, I've devoted myself wholly to the WWE and don't know what else to do with my time! I've accomplished the main thing I want to do with my life, and now I don't know what else to do with it!" Davy then buried his face in his hands "GOD!"

Undertaker rolled his eyes at Davy's little fit, he'd seen much worse. In fact compared to some of the cases of 'Roid Rage, drunken tantrums, and drug induced insanity that Undertaker had to talk some guys out of, Davy's little fit was so minor it was almost cute. "Relax kid. I've seen this with a lot of guys. And not just wrestlers. You're not at peace, you've accomplished what you wanted, but your not sure what to do now. So you just putter around, it's not healthy."

"What do you think I should do?" Davy asked the Veteran.

Taker smiled and slapped Davy on the back "Honestly I think you need to start doing more, go have fun. Get out of your shell, make friends. Go out and get a drink with the boys. Get some hobbies. Find yourself a girl. In fact…" Taker pointed towards the water fountain, and a beautiful young woman who was drinking from it. "You see that girl right there?" Davy looked up and saw her. The girl was a toned tanned brunette bombshell, she looked like she was in amazing shape and was dressed in sweatpants and an official WWE Shawn Michaels sweatshirt. "Vince called her up from Developmental. She's a wrestler like us!" Undertaker explained.

Davy couldn't help but laugh "alright I'll ask her out."

With a smile Taker pushed the young man out of his chair and towards the girl. He strutted towards her trying his hardest to look cool. He took a deep breath and introduced himself. "Hey I'm Davy Ward." He grinned while extending his hand.

The girl put her hand into his. "Oh hey. I'm Sarah. I'm the newest Diva on Raw." She chimed with exuberance.

"I know. Undertaker told me." Davy responded. "So do you have your first match tonight?"

"YepI'm tagging with Mickie James later." Answered Sarah.

"Really?" Davy replied with a grin. "Against who?"

Cheerfully Sarah answered, "Katie Lea and Beth Phoenix. Oh god I'm so nervous. We all talked about the spots we would do and how the match would work, but I've never worked with anyone in that ring before."  
"Don't worry I've tagged with Mickie once and wrestled Beth in an intergender match." Davy replied.

"Any advice?" Sarah asked.

"Sure" Davy answered. "What's your finisher?"

Sarah proudly replied "A cobra clutch bulldog. I just call it the Sarah Smash!"

Davy pondered for a minute, then he snapped his fingers with a perfect finish to the match. "My advice would be to put the cobra clutch on Beth first to show that you know how to use submission moves, then have her power out and you play face in peril. After the crowd needs and gets the Hot tag, Let Mickie clean house. But before she can hit her DDT, let Katie Lea interfere. Then you run in, you and Mickie handle both of them and then you hit your finisher on Beth."

"That could work." Sarah chirped. "So Davy what are you doing tonight?" she asked flipping her hair.

Davy casually flexed his arms and stretched them behind his head. "I'm going over William Regal." Davy then put his hand to his chin. "You know I could use a Diva to help make sure Layla doesn't help him screw me over." He casually stated.

Sarah giggled. "Are you asking me to be your valet?"

With a huge smile, Davy calmly replied "Yes I am."

"Sure. I think that we can do that." Said Sarah. She checked her watch "Oh god I'm sorry but my match is coming up next. I got to go!"

"No Problem. I'll go ask Vince about putting you into my match." Davy replied.

Sarah waved at Davy as she walked away.

Davy went to the main backstage area, where most of the roster was hanging around. some were scattered around holding conversations, a couple were doing bodyweight exercises like push ups and crunches, and some were watching the live broadcast on monitors. Davy looked around to find Vince McMahon, the de-facto head of Raw, as well of Company chairman and majority stockholder. Davy found McMahon discussing things with Triple H, one of the company's top men and McMahon's Son in Law. Davy took a deep breath, when it came to these men, respect was everything. If you weren't extremely polite to them, then your chances of ever getting to the main event were severely hampered. "Excuse me Vince." He asked clearly but without presumption.

"Yes Davy?" McMahon answered. "How can I help you?"

Davy took a quick deep breath and asked "Can that new girl Sarah be my valet tonight against Regal?"

McMahon looked down at Davy. He was a very intimidating man, he worked out and was built like a heavyweight wrestler, in fact he was a former WWE champion. He crossed his arms, hemmed and hawed, and then gave his verdict "Sure I'm giving you a push anyway. A new valet might just be what you need."

With a firm handshake Davy thanked McMahon "That's very nice of you sir."

"No problem." McMahon chuckled. "You're on in about thirty minutes kiddo. You ready?"

"yeah. Davy replied. "I'm going to talk to regal about our match, see how we can incorporate Sarah."

"Later kiddo." McMahon bade him.

Half an Hour passed, Sarah and her Partner won their match with the ending that Davy had prescribed. A tag team match had occurred, and now It was time for Davy to shine.

First William Regal, a talented British mat wrestler came out to the ring. He was accompanied by Layla. His slinky petite Valet. Regal was a heel, a bad guy. He was known for his ground and pound offense and use of various suplexes, where he would grab his opponent up and flip them over him. Davy on the other hand was much flashier, using a wide variety of chops, kicks, submission holds and takedowns, along with the occasional top rope maneuver and snazzy power moves.

Regal grouchily came to the ring and stretched against the ropes. His ominous horn music theme song filled the arena. His height and weight and hometown were announced. Then it was Davy's turn to come to the ring. His hard rock theme song erupted, Davy jumped onto the stage and threw his arms up in a 'Raise the roof' gesture, trying to get the crowd excited. He ran down the ring, running his hand across those of front row spectators. he vaulted into the ring and rushed towards the far turnbuckle, which he ascended and waved his arms around to call the fans in, motioning towards himself. He was pure energy and pure excitement. His stats were announced as Sarah sauntered into the ring behind him. The Bell rung the match was on.

Regal and Davy locked up, they pushed for position for a while before Regal transitioned to a headlock. Davy countered with a leg sweep. While Regal was down Davy kipped up and bounced across the ropes to get momentum for a running splash, but Regal rolled out of the way just in time and Davy landed on the mat. Regal tried to grab Davy's leg, but Davy got up in time to avoid the attack. the two of them stared down and started trading punches in the middle of the ring, after landing a good looking punch to Regal's face, Davy tucked Regal's head under his arm, preparing for a move known as a DDT, where he would drop to his back smashing Regal's head into the mat, but Regal simply pushed out of it and Davy bounced against the ropes again. Davy ran towards Regal, but his face connected right into Regal's suddenly raised knee. Regal then threw Davy into a vertical suplex, flipping him over. Regal started pelting Davy with elbow drops, before going for a pinfall. Davy kicked out at two and then kipped up. Davy ran across the ring and leapfrogged Regal on his way back before going to a turnbuckle, but before Davy could jump off the turnbuckle Layla jumped onto the ring apron and pushed Davy down. Sarah ran around the ring and hit Layla with a hard Lariat (extending her arm and charging catching layla's head and neck with her arm) keeping her from interfering any further. Still Davy had to deal with the evil Englishman, who attempted to punt Davy's head, thankfully Davy grabbed Regal's foot and twisted it to throw Regal off balance and making him fall to the mat again. Davy then got up to his feet and threw his arms around to call to the crowd, as he waited for Regal to get up. When the two were fully standing the two charged at each other, Regal going for a running punch and Davy for a shoulder tackle. Davy ducked Regal's punch while connecting with his tackle. Regal was again knocked down, instead of going for a pin however Davy went for his legs. After wrapping Regal's legs right Davy squatted down over Regal's back, putting pressure on Regal's lower back and knotted legs. It was one of Davy's finishers, a classic submission move known as The Texas Cloverleaf. Regal tapped out and Davy won.

With his name announced, Davy started posing to the crowd, as Regal and Layla skulked away. With no warning Sarah jumped into Davy's arms and gave him a big kiss. With the roaring crowd and loud music to help cover his noise Davy whispered to her her "Did we plan this spot?"

"No this is a shoot kiss." She whispered back into his ear.

"Fine by Me" Davy beamed as he began kissing Sarah again. The two stopped kissing as Davy walked out of the ring. With one hand around her waist and another waving in the air. This was the last night in a long time that Davy wouldn't regret in the coming months.


	2. The Lock Up

The Lock up

Since Undertaker's suggestion of talking to Sarah worked so well, Davy took Taker's command to go have fun seriously to heart. After that night Davy went out of his way to be more gregarious. The next night after a non-televised show, Davy went out with a group of other wrestlers to go drinking. Because he wasn't used to purely social situations Davy just did what was suggested without really thinking it through, and he drank roughly 3/4ths a gallon of beer and liquor. He could barely remember the rest of the night, but when he woke up he discovered that his eyebrows were missing. The ribbing had begun. Wrestler drinking groups were like fraternities, you can be friends with them, but you can't party with them until you deal with initiation rituals. Still Davy decided that being without Eyebrows was better than being alone backstage lamenting his empty life.

He also started going to more things every chance he could. The WWE travel schedule was four shows a week, five if you're on the card for a PPV that month. Davy tried to spend the other few days of the week with as much fun as he could. Any time anyone backstage mentioned a party, he was sure to attend, any time anyone mentioned they were going to something, he would go to and then attend the afterparty. And before each show he would spend hours sightseeing, often not arriving to the show until minutes before the show started. He still managed to get to all his matches, and they were still usually good matches, but Vince had been on his case about being late and was keeping an eye on him and Sarah.

For the first couple of weeks this life was perfect for Davy, he had a new girl, stuff to do beside lament his previous lack of a real personal life, and more friends then ever. But eventually the trouble of this life started catching up to Davy. His money started to disappear. He would frequently find that his checking account was empty, and when he looked at his checkbook he saw that he spent so much of his hard earned money on drinks, souvenirs, and restaurant fees.

Another concern besides his money was he was having trouble staying in shape. Since he spent more of his time seeing tourist attractions and spent most of his off days doing one thing or another, he didn't have time to work out. Also the heavy drinking at nights, and eating of restaurant food as opposed to his meals at home put even more strain on his body. The physique that he worked so hard for since he was a teenager, the build that allowed him to make it into WWE instead of just working the indys, was fading. While it was dangerous for his image to get out of shape it was even worse for his actual ability to perform. Davy's in ring style was extremely fast, and utilized a lot of running the ropes, and jumping off of them and the turnbuckles, and also a lot of picking his opponents up and tossing them around. He'd become slower and weaker. He could still put on a good match but he had lost the snap to a lot of his moves, he noticed that the push that McMahon was giving him just faded out. And while he wasn't getting booked as a complete loser, he wasn't winning as many matches, getting as many opportunities to cut promos and wasn't getting on PPV. Davy did notice but refused to acknowledge it. He still got to have fun in the ring, still had Sarah, and was still making enough money to pay for his lifestyle.

This kept going for about two months, when an event happened that forced Davy to realize that his hedonistic lifestyle was hurting him. Davy was in a match against a local boy, it was a dark (untelevised but at a TV taping) match to determine if this kid deserved a contract. And Davy could hardly do any of his spots. He couldn't jump high enough to do his leapfrog. He could barely run the ropes like he used to, and he swore he pulled something going for a suplex. Davy won the match, but if it was a real fight instead of a worked Professional Wrestling match, he realized he would have lost. That was when Davy lost his pride in his work and in himself. Not sure if he could go back to the loneliness of his life before Taker's pep talk, he tried to find solace in copious amounts of alcohol. With enough drinks he could forget all his problems at least for that night. Over the next several months Davy's drinking problem kept getting worse and worse. It was probably for the best that he forgot things after her drank, because when he didn't drink he turned into an absolute jerk. The hangovers drove him nuts, his fuse got shorter and shorter. Eventually he was snapping at everyone all the time, his friends abandoned him, Sarah got scared and stopped seeing him and Vince quietly demoted him to the bottom of the card, keeping him on the roster hoping that somebody could get through to the young man. Davy was worse off than before, totally alone, unmotivated, wrestling horribly and still feeling empty. It all came to a head roughly five months after his talk with Taker. It was the next Random drug screening of the year, every wrestler in WWE had to take a urine test to make sure they weren't on any illicit substances, and at a certain point McMahon had decided to a certain level of alcohol just as bad as anything else in a wrestler's system.

The day after the test Vince McMahon got everyone's results. When he saw just how much alcohol was in Davy's piss he realized what was wrong with him and finally decided to get matters taken care of. At the house show that evening McMahon stomped around backstage looking for Davy, he found him sitting against a wall in the parking deck. "Davy!" McMahon barked. "We just got your urine samples back, do you realize how bad your test was!"

Davy himself had anticipated that tonight this would probably happen. And decided it was time to sober up. Sadly the first day was the hardest and Davy a huge headache and an even worse attitude. Without even making eye contact with his boss Davy just mumbled. "Don't talk to me sir."

"Listen to me boy, I'm worried about you." McMahon snarled. He was trying extremely hard to be reasonable, but he really didn't like to be told off by Wrestlers who were being more trouble than they were worth.

McMahon's words hit like concert speakers to Davy. "Listen Sir, don't talk to me!"

McMahon pretended he didn't hear Davy tell him what to do "your Alcohol level was the worst I've seen since Eddie Guererro before I released him. You've got a problem and it's been affecting your work for far too long. I'm suspending you for 30 days without pay and ordering you to get into rehab."

Davy jumped up at McMahon and grabbed him by the shirt. In his current state being told he wouldn't have any income for a month and couldn't do what he loved most was more than enough to send him over the edge. "You Can't suspend me!" Davy snarled. "I've worked too freaking hard, This is my life! You piece of crap you can't just kick me to the curb!"

McMahon pushed Davy down and threw him against the wall. "Listen you ungrateful punk. This is the life of almost 100 men and women. Not counting all the road crew, musicians, lawyers and god knows who else I have to try to keep happy! And don't give me that I've worked too hard bull. You haven't put on a decent match in months. Hell for the past couple of months you've been nothing but trouble. " McMahon's tone was almost exactly like Davy's. "I've let go of guys who were far harder working and far more beloved by the crowd than you. I've fired Stone Cold Steve Austin, I've fired Hulk Hogan, by the time I had established both of them as the biggest stars in the world! I could fire you now and not lose any of my usual 3 hours of sleep about it!"  
Then McMahon let Davy go, Vince took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "You're unpaid while your suspended, but we pay for rehab and counseling. My advice would be to take it." Vince calmly ordered. "Now get back to the hotel."


	3. The Match

The Match

Disgraced and following orders Davy went back to his hotel room. Most wrestlers usually stayed in relatively nice hotels in good parts of town. But for the past several months Davy had to stay in much cheaper and much seedier accommodations as he had blown most of his money during his hard partying days. He watched the broadcast of Raw, everyone else was out proforming to the best of their ability, it was a good crowd, Davy missed it already. There was a Diva's bikini contest. Davy chuckled when Sarah won the crowds reaction. At least one of them was having a good night. Davy sighed, There were two things in Davy's life that he had been truly passionate about , the first was pro-wrestling, but secondly and probably more importantly was Sarah. He'd been a fool to let her go.

About half an hour after the show went off the air there was a knock at Davy's door. With a half empty beer in his hand Davy answered. He hoped it was Sarah, it turned out to be Davy's childhood idol, dressed in his latest T-shirt, jeans and a cowboy hat, Shawn Micheals. Shawn aka The Heartbreak kid (often shortened to HBK) was an icon. After the era of Hulk Hogan ended, Shawn was one of the men who brought back technical wrestling, fast holds and counters to the WWF. He was also known for his life story, he started out as a crazed Fan obsessed with becoming a wrestler, became one, got addicted to drugs and was a real hellraiser, and then found Jesus and since became a very respectable husband and father. "Um hi Shawn," Davy said. Despite having worked alongside Shawn for a long time Davy barely had the guts to speak to him unless spoken too, he was always starstruck. "How can I help you?"

In his Texan accent Shawn replied "Sarah sent me here. May I come in?"

Davy backed up and sat on his bed "Sure thing." Davy grinned "Beer?"

Shawn _tsked_ and reminded Davy "I don't touch the stuff these days."

"Oh god I'm so Sorry." Davy apologized nervously. He dropped the beer immediately.

Pulling up the chair in the room Shawn looked Davy straight in the eye. "It's alright Davy. Sarah came to me tonight and asked me to come see you."

Davy tried to keep things casual "We're both big fans of you."

"I know." Shawn calmly replied. "Anyway I was planning on coming to you the moment I found out you were suspended." Shawn took his hat off and placed it on the dresser. "You gave us quite the scare Davy. You've been off it for a long time. And tonight you broke one of the company's most important rules, Don't be disrespectful to Vince. That's a level of stupidity where you need serious help!"

Davy shook his head. "I'm pretty sure my WWE career is over."

Shawn sighed. "It's not Davy. Don't worry. Vince and a lot of the wrestlers talked. He was more concerned than any of us. He basically said that if you come out of this good and clean everything will be alright, and he'll put you right back into the main event push. That's one of the reasons I came here."

"You really shouldn't have Shawn. I'm not sure I can be helped."

"Don't talk like that." Shawn ordered. "Davy I like you. You've got a great style. Your energetic, you've got the look, and the crowd loved you. You were on your way to the main event. "

Davy countered "Vince told me that several times. But obviously…"

"Don't!" Shawn cut him off. "You were on your way to the main event and I don't want to see that get lost. But clearly you've fallen into a deep pit. First you lost all focus on what made you happy and burnt out and now your drinking your life away. You've gone from bad to worse to just plain atrocious!"

"I'm sorry sir." Davy responded with a tear running down his face.

"It's not me you should be apologizing too." Shawn continued.

"I think that you should know that there's been a lot of talk about you over the past year. Almost all the veterans think that when you first came in that you were something special, they really liked your work ethic. But we also were kind of worried about you personally, you didn't really do much with anyone and you lacked drive. That's why Taker told you to go out and do more and have some fun. He thought that maybe if you could get your personal life in order, you'd have the clarity to push yourself to the next level."

Davy buried his face in his hands "nothing's been clear to me for months!" he cried.

Shawn sighed. "I guessed that. So I just want to talk to you."

"Thank you." Davy replied.

Shawn kept looking at Davy keeping an even tone. "Alright first order of business. I want you to know that there's a rehab facility in Flordia that you're going to. Sarah is booking tickets there and Vince has already called. I'm making it perfectly clear now that your going!" Davy nodded. Shawn continued "Second order of business. Do you know why everything started to fall apart?" Davy shook his head silently. Shawn shook his head "I think I know why. First you didn't know why you were feeling empty, so you tried to fill that emptiness with your partying and sightseeing. But as you did that your career suffered."

"That sounds about right." Davy nodded.

"And when You realized your career was getting worse, you turned to drinking to handle your new worries. And you still always had this empty feeling?' Shawn asked double checking his facts.

"pretty much." Davy admitted.

"I think what we need to do is find out why you were feeling empty in the first place. Then we find what we need to fill that void."

Davy agreed, "That sounds smart."

Shawn adjusted himself in his chair. "First off. Ask yourself why did you let yourself go after Taker suggested that you have more fun with your life?"

"I think because I was meeting new people, seeing new things and enjoying the world so much I forgot to train and exercise." Davy answered.

"Did doing those things make you happy?" Shawn asked.

"Yeah."

Shawn pondered "Did they make you as happy as wrestling?"

Davy thought for a moment. "Actually no."

"Then why did you do them?" Shawn asked.

"Because I enjoyed the connection with people. I think. That's what I liked most about everything." Davy answered.

Shawn begged the question, "So you felt basically like you belonged. But you didn't feel complete?"

"Yeah."

"Davy now I have a big question for you? instead of always doing something or trying to run away from something did you ever just sit and think about your life? Not worry about it, just think 'what's up with my life?"

Davy rubbed his temples. "Not really."

Shawn rolled his eyes "Alright kid that's a habit you need to pick up. Examining your life every once in a while helps keep you in check. And if you've had a good life nothing can make you more content then remembering just how good your life is. 'Kay?"

"Yes sir." Davy replied.

"Alright Davy now I want you to think right now. What was the most perfect time you can remember. When did you feel most content?" Shawn advised.

"The night that I met Sarah, I had a good match with Regal. I was on good terms with Vince. I had Sarah and I'm pretty sure I loved her, and afterwards I went and had a good time with the guys. It was the last time I remember not being worried about anything." Davy reminisced.

"Alright. So wrestling is what you love to do with your life." Shawn pointed out. Raising one finger as if counting.

"Oh Hell yeah." Davy replied. "I can't imagine myself doing anything else."

"Good so let's agree. Your going to rededicate yourself to wrestling after rehab, alright! It'll provide you a base it'll keep you on track." Shawn proposed.

With a smile Davy answered. "Yes Sir."

Raising another finger Shawn remarked, "Okay now the other parts of the equation. Apparently you're crazy about Sarah."

Again, "Hell Yeah." erupted from Davy's lips.

"Good. Not every man needs it but I think the love of a good woman Is one of the most important things a man can have. So I would suggest trying to patch things up with her as soon as you can. It's hard to find women willing to date wrestlers, don't let her slide."

"I wont Sir." Davy said with full confidence.

"And thirdly, it felt good to be with friends at the end of a long day." Shawn claimed extending a third finger.

"Yeah." Agreed. "It was the perfect ending to a good day."

Shawn chuckled "so after rehab I want you to reconnect with the guys on the roster. Being connected to people helps keep you happy, I've never met anyone without friends who I could say was a happy, good person, person. So patch things up with the guys alright. "

"Will do." Davy Promised.

"Now lets look at some other things. I don't want you to just devote your life to evenings with friends and Sarah at events. You did what you loved, with who you loved, and got to unwind with people that you love. But don't be afraid to do other things if you find you have spare time after you work out or if your not working out that day, go ahead go look at a monument. If you have a night off go watch MMA with Taker and the boys. Just don't forget what you truly care about." Shawn took a quick breath. "You following me so far boy?" Davy nodded and Shawn got back to parting wisdom "Also you need learn to just stop worrying. Some times are going to be hard and you need to stop worrying and clear your head before proceeding. For example if you had a clear head. You probably wouldn't have turned to booze and instead you would have evaluated your priorities and would've gotten back in the gym."

"How do I do that?" Davy asked.

"It's different for everyone. Personally I pray to God that things will work out, and then after saying Amen I just sit and don't think for a while. Once my head is all good and clear I start thinking 'what's the next move'."

"Alright I'll do that." Davy promised.

"Yeah I really think that religion would be a very good thing for you." Shawn remarked. "It's not for everyone, but it was my belief in Jesus Christ that got me through some very rough times."

"I'll take a bible to Rehab." Davy replied.

"that would be a good idea." Shawn smiled. "Now okay you've got a big hard day tomorrow what with rehab and all. But I just want to make sure everything's clear alright. So lets recap."

Davy improved his posture and looked Shawn straight in the eye. "My happiness comes from doing what I love with the person I love with the people I love."

"Basically, I wouldn't say it's just that simple. But yeah, having a purpose, having someone you love, and having friends is very important." Shawn replied. "And what are some things I told you to do?"  
Davy stroked his chin in thought then he remembered "To remember to reflect upon my life occasionally. And to not worry about things!"

"GOOD!" Shawn clapped.

Davy smiled "I think I have it now."

Shawn got up and started out of the room. "Good. Now you're in a way for a long hard road. But I think it's important right now for you to get some sleep. And remember what I told you."

"I will sir."

Roughly 20 minutes later Davy knelt down at his bed first he prayed. "Dear lord, please help me through this the road ahead is long and I need guidance. Thank you. Amen." Then he didn't think. And he felt calm and clearheaded. Then he started thinking "what now?"

It took him a minute, but soon the thoughts entered his mind. And even though he was bordering on broke, even though he was an alcoholic, Even though he had almost committed career suicide. For the first time in his life he felt he understood things, and for once that emptiness he hated so much was gone.


	4. THe pinfall

The Pin

It had been a long hard six months. While Rehab and the suspension only lasted a month. Davy still had to get himself back in ring shape, and reprove himself to the Locker-room, to the fans and to himself. Thankfully What Shawn told Davy was true, McMahon was still willing to give Davy a second chance. Davy's time in Rehab doubled as a month of arduous physical training, With Davy completely redevoting himself to being a good pro-wrestler. When he came back to competition he was in almost as good of shape as before all his troubles. And he was welcomed back with open arms by everyone. Even Vince gave him a welcome back hug, but more importantly so did Sarah. It wasn't long before the two started dating again, with Davy now in the best emotional state he'd ever been, the relationship was much easier. Davy quickly earned his spot back, being booked to go over (defeat) several minor heels to gain fan support again. The he was given a star making opportunity heading up to Wrestlemania. He was booked as the #1 contender to the Intercontinental Championship, against Shawn Michaels himself. While Shawn had previously stated that he didn't have any real interest in being a champ again, he knew that in order for both of them to stay face(good guys) and have a Wrestlemania match, it had to strictly be about the title. This was going to be Davy's biggest career night to date. And he had a special plan for what to do right after he won the title. It was the third to last match of the night. The only matches bigger were for the Raw and Smackdown World Titles.

The match was perfect. It was nearly half an hour long. Back and forth action, smart counter wrestling, outright brawling, and some amazing turnbuckle and springboard action. Davy knew it was the best match of his life. He was especially proud of the ending. The crowd was red hot. Davy and Shawn stared each other down, the match had already been a five star classic. The crowd was so hot that they could just pause the match and listen. The Crowd alternated its deafening roars "H-B-K!" "LETS GO DAVY!" "H-B-K!" "LETS GO DAVY!" the crowd was so into it that the two men walked to the alternate sides of the ring. And jumped into the corner turnbuckles. Both waved at the crowd and flexed and posed, each taking turns trying to get the crowd even more amped up. When Davy and HBK were sure that the crowd was as loud as they could get, they jumped back into the ring and met in the middle of the ring. The shook hands, and then it resumed. Right during the handshake HBK twisted Davy's arm with a powerful wristlock. Thankfully Davy countered it into a side legsweep, Then Davy did one of his now famous Kip ups but Shawn did one at the exact same time. Again they faced each other, and they started to trade chops. The crowd roared "WOO!" with every strike. Soon Davy grabbed Shawn mid chop and threw him into the ropes with an irish whip. Shawn used that momentum to do a jumping clothesline at Davy, but Davy managed to duck just in the nick of time and grab Shawn, Davy quickly tucked Shawn's leg and away and twisted him into an abdominal stretch. It was a good wear down hold that Davy kept for about 30 seconds, before Shawn managed to get an arm free and elbow Davy in the face to get free. When the hold was broken Shawn capitalized with a scoop slam before rushing back to a turnbuckle to deliver an elbow drop. Davy rolled out of the way and got to his feet. While Shawn was rolling around in agony Davy waited for him to get on his back. After Shawn put both shoulders to the ground Davy smiled. He rushed to the ropes and used them to perform a springboard leg-drop right onto Shawn's stomach. It connected perfectly. Davy then pulled Shawn to his feet, and prepared for his final move. Davy faced Shawn eye to eye, and made that the Camera's could clearly see him say "I love you Man!" Then Davy threw Shawn's head under his arm and grabbed his hands around Shawn's waist, Davy threw himself backwards in a Northern Lights Suplex, it was his finisher, Shawn's shoulders hit the mat, and the ref counted 1-2-3.

Davy's theme song played as the ring announcer called out to the arena "The Winner of this match and new Intercontinental Champion. Davy Ward!"

The time-keeper brought the belt to Davy, who went from Turnbuckle to Turnbuckle showing it off to his fans. Sarah rushed into the ring and into Davy's arms. He accepted her with a huge smooch. And gave her the belt. Then he rolled out of the ring, and lifted the ring apron. It was extremely common for a wrestler to go under the ring and pull out some item to use as a weapon, anything from a kendo-stick to a sledgehammer to a cards table could come out from there any given night, but it was extremely unusual to see a wrestler to pull out what Davy did. A little white box. Davy then walked to the little booth the ring announcers sat in and borrowed a microphone. Davy then climbed back into the ring. The crowd was even hotter for this than they were for the match. Davy smiled at the crowd "Everyone if I can have your attention for just a moment." He asked. There was a rare silence in the stadium that night. "Sarah, the past year half has been a difficult time in my life. I messed myself up pretty badly and you were there watching it happen. But I just want you to know that even though it sucked, really I don't mind. I learned a lot about myself and I learned a lot about life in general. But the most important thing I learned was your name." Davy dropped to his knee, and opened the box, "Sarah, will you marry me?" The whole crowd erupted into cheers. They all started to chant "Say Yes! Say Yes! Say Yes!"

Sarah smiled and fanned herself to make it clear how much she was blushing. Then she stepped over and placed the ring on her right hand's ring finger. "How can a girl turn down a proposal on a live PPV?" She asked the audience. Then she looked at Davy "Get up champ!" Davy got off his knees and wrapped his arms around Sarah. The production guys started to play Davy's theme again. Davy threw his title belt across his shoulder and held Sarah's hand as they walked towards backstage.

As soon as they were away from the camera's eyes, Davy noticed that almost the entire roster and production team had gathered to intercept them. The Diva's swarmed Sarah to inspect her engagement ring, while the guys all patted Davy on the shoulder and said congratulated him, though there were scatterings of comments like "Now my girlfriend is going to expect that." And Triple H bellowed "There's no way I can go on after that!"

Davy looked up and saw all the guys but there was one man in particular he was looking for. And he found him, already in his tights and his trademark black hat, in the back stood the Undertaker. Davy plodded through the group and went straight to undertaker. Davy placed his hand on the much taller man's shoulder. "Hey Taker."

Taker looked down at Davy "Look I want to say I'm sorry?"

Davy laughed "For what. Sure you might have pushed me into a downward spiral that eventually lead to me becoming an alcoholic and almost losing everything. But you did something way more important that day." Davy pointed at Sarah. "You introduced me to the woman I'm going to marry."

Taker smiled "Thank you kid."

Davy smiled back "No thank you Sir." Then in an unprecedented act, Taker and Davy both wrapped their arms around each other and patted each other on the back.

Undertaker then just wandered off somehow disappearing into the now dissipating crowd. Davy then closed his hands. "Dear God, thank you for everything. Please guide me through the next part of my life. Thank you again. Amen" Davis let his mind clear. Then he thought about everything in his life. Warmness filled him, a perfect joy washed over him. He was beyond at peace with the world around him, and he was more than content. For now at least, Davy had achieved perfect happiness.


End file.
